Paul puts Jeff, a new producer at WTN, on the spot and asks him to think of a question for Paul to answer on the air. After some thought, Jeff shares, “I’ve never invested before, but I think I’m ready to start. Stocks seem like a good place to invest. How do I make a game plan?” Paul takes a step back and shares what a strong financial plan looks like, how to know when you’re ready to start investing, and how to to start making an investing game-plan. Later in the episode, a listener reaches out to Paul because he wants more information about Paul’s opinion on bonds that take longer than 5 years to mature.

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Most investors think returns are the best way to measure the success of an investment product, but when asked they aren’t usually able to be more specific about what they mean. Today, Paul and Ira talk about how following the media’s ideas about returns can push investors toward some common investing mistakes. Listen along to hear a different approach to thinking about returns that gives you a better picture of your portfolio’s performance.

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Curiosity and education are important in the financial process, but there are some questions that are not good for investors to be asking. After Paul worked with someone this week who got troubling financial advice from a family member, he wants to remind investors that questions about the short term past-performance of an investment are generally not helpful. Listen along as Paul and Ira explain why this kind of thinking leads people to market timing and risky investing decisions.

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No one is immune to loss and hardship. But just like money and finances can feel difficult or taboo, conversations around grief and mental health can also be difficult to navigate. Today, Paul invites a friend and fellow counselor, Lindsey Casabella, onto the show to talk about the grieving process, how to walk through it towards mental and physical health, and some important information for helping loved ones who are dealing with grief and loss.

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Do you remember just a few years ago when the media was nervous to see China become the world’s leading economy? So many people used this supposed inevitability to take bets on what they market would do as a result. Paul is here to talk about China’s most recent economic stumble and how disinflation is causing China to struggle to compete on the world stage. Things can change quickly. Paul reflects on a similar situation with Japan in the 80s and how the United States shifted to stay competitive. Later in the episode, Paul answers a couple of questions from a financial stewardship class he taught at Trevecca.

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Paul shares an all-too-common investing horror story as a warning to investors who think they can trust their advisors without any education. A 50-year-old woman has an advisor who takes her out to lunch, buys presents for her kids, sends her holiday cards, and then puts $500,000 of her money into annuity products. After a decade trying to get out, another advisor ties up her money in stock-picking and active management against her wishes. Paul urges investors to look past if their advisor might be “nice” and educate themselves about the investing process. Unfortunately, this story is more common than you might think. Later in the episode, Paul hits a question from his financial stewardship class at Trevecca about how to finally start saving.

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Paul gets some great feedback on a video he made late last month about whether or not investors should invest in gold in 2024. Paul takes some time to answer these questions from listeners: 1) If banks and companies are borrowing and going into large amounts of debt, are they really a safe place to keep money compared to owning gold? 2) Does your investing advice about gold apply to all commodities? 3) Isn’t gold a better option than cash because it protects your wealth against inflation? Listen along to hear more about why there is so much misinformation around gold and how it gets marketed to investors.

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